Gasping for Air
by zinneria
Summary: In an AU where Tenzin was never born, Avatar Korra tries to learn how to deal with a world coping with the loss of the Air Nomads. - Written for the Pro-Bending Curcuit.


Korra learning how to deal with a world coping with the loss of the Air Nomads.

 **Prompts: (word)** empty, **(dialogue)** "I was made for this!"

 **Word count:** 1,383

—»«—  
 _i: Katara_

"It's been awhile since I've seen you, Korra," Katara carefully sat down in front of a table. "I've heard a lot about what you've been doing in Republic City. I'm very proud of what you've been able to accomplish."

Korra beamed under her old master's praise. "It hasn't been easy but I've done pretty well, huh? I was made for this!"

"And so modest," the old waterbender commented, amused. "Is something on your mind? I don't think you would have just come here to hear praise."

She glowered at the table. "The Air Acolytes have started teaching me about the Air Nomad culture."

"And you're not doing very well, I take it?" Katara prompted.

Korra shook her head. "No…no, I'm doing fine. If I can master all four elements at half the age other Avatars did, some parchment and paper are going to be a walk in the park."

"Then what is it?" Katara asked. "I can't say I can see what the problem is."

"I feel like they're expecting me to be like Aang once I finish my training."

Katara nodded in understand. "Ah. I see."

"They're expecting me to be the airbender, and balance out the world again by being the entire Air Nomad culture."

"You're not willing to do that for the world?"

"..I…"

"If you said no, I can't blame you," Katara looked away wistfully. "I suppose this would be a good time to say that Bumi, Kya, and I felt the same way you do now, and probably still do to an extent. I know I do." She admitted.

Puzzled, Korra looked at her. "Why?"

Katara chuckled ruefully. "Why wouldn't we? They are Avatar Aang's children, and have Air Nomad blood. I was his wife so I must have learned _some_ things," she took a sip of her tea. "Whenever Aang tried to teach them things about his culture, they weren't interested in the least. Looking back, I wish I had encouraged him to keep trying, and encouraged our children to be a little more invested; after he figured that there wasn't much he could do to get them interested, he devoted most of his time to the Air Acolytes and his relationship with them became strained." The old woman sighed heavily. "I think he knew that he wasn't going to live for very long and he wanted to do as much as he could while he could."

Katara paused for a moment then straightened. "Well there's nothing that can be done about the past so we can't dwell on our mistakes. It isn't healthy. As I was saying, after he died, the Air Acolytes were the only things left of the Air Nomads, as you know. All of the world leaders were looking at us to continue where Aang left off."

"But you said you wouldn't?" Korra guessed.

Katara closed her eyes. "Listen to me, Korra; if you don't love the Air Nomads the way Aang, or even the Air Acolytes do, keeping a nation from being nothing but a distant memory will only weigh you down. It's a hard truth, but you will need to let someone else solve some problems, especially something as important as this. If you don't believe you were meant for keeping alive the Air Nomad culture, you shouldn't."

Korra furrowed her brows. "But—"

"If you loved the culture, you would do everything possible to keep their memory alive as perfectly as you could. But if you don't, you will let things slip through the cracks without knowing how possibly vital that thing may be in the centuries to come. More things will be forgotten and then the Air Nomads will eventually be lost to time."

She raised a brow. "That's a big assumption."

Katara smiled ruefully. "Yes, I suppose it is. But what I mean to say is that sometimes you will do more harm than good even when you're trying to help. We all have our place in the world and attempting to be something you aren't can be very dangerous. Choose your battles wisely"

 _ii: Aang_

"It's good to see you, Avatar Korra."

Korra laughed a little breathlessly. "I'm glad that I'm able to just talk with you whenever I want to."

"Maybe not whenever, but most of the time, yes. That's a rather big accomplishment for you if you ask me," he laughed.

"…"

"Don't take it so seriously. It's healthy to laugh at yourself every now and then. Since you're technically me, you already did 'the laughing at yourself,' part so you're golden."

"…I should have talked to Roku."

"As long as it's not Kyoshi. Don't listen to Kyoshi." Aang added. The mirth faded from his expression as he sobered. "What _do_ you need help with, Korra?"

She paused. "What's going to happen to us after the Avatar Cycle comes back to Air?"

"That's what you wanted to ask me about?" He asked. When Korra nodded, Aang looked thoughtful. "I don't know," he replied. "The past can only help guide you. It can't tell fortunes."

She blew on a lock of hair that had fallen in front of her face. "That's not very helpful," she muttered.

He chuckled. "I'm sorry, Korra, but I can't give you a definitive answer. Not even the Avatar Spirit itself would be able to. In the history of the world, there's never been such a thorough genocide to the point of extinction of an entire race."

" _But what am I supposed to do_?" She enunciated. "How am I supposed to keep the Air Nomads alive? And all that other stuff that people are saying I need to do before I die? No one understands what I have to do, and it doesn't help that everyone's acting like the end of the world if I mess up. And what's worse is that they might be right!"

"Mm. Yes, being the Avatar is very difficult in that regard, especially now, it looks like." Aang shook his head. "All I can tell you is to learn all you can, and share it with all you can, and teach even more to everyone who's willing to listen."

"How is that going to help?"

"Only time will tell. You're…planting a seed of interest, I guess you could call it. Maybe the proverbial seed will sprout years later. We just don't know. Whatever happens, we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it. One good thing about being the Avatar is that you'll never have to do these kinds of things by yourself."

 _iii: Toph_

"What are you complaining about?" Toph plopped down next to Korra. "You should be glad that airbenders have been popping up again. The Air Temples are less empty now." She slurped loudly from a bowl in her hand.

Korra stared at her. "You could hear me?" She asked.

"I hear everything," she responded sourly. "I'm blind, not deaf. If anything, you sighted people are the deaf ones."

"…Right."

"Anyway, why are you bothering complaining? Airbending won't be extinct like those Air Acolytes keep droning on and on about so they have one less thing to complain about. Last I checked, they were doing pretty well too."

Korra brightened. "Really?"

"If Twinkletoes were here, he'd be on the ground sobbing tears of joy. Rogue members of the Fire Nation saved a herd of sky bison and his reincarnation brought back the airbenders and they're learning everything they can about the Air Nomad shtick." She took another drink from her bowl. "Well most of them, anyway."

"So the world's done pretty well without me."

"Oh, don't give me that. I don't bother with people feeling sorry for themselves," Toph huffed, standing up.

"Hey, I'm not feeling sorry for myself!" Korra protested.

She didn't turn to face her. "Then what are you doing here?" Toph asked.

"I told you! I'm trying to get better and was hoping for your help!" She snapped.

Toph snorted. "I am helping you," she drawled. "If you're expecting me to do anything for you, you've got another thing coming."

Korra glowered at her back.

"I told you that you need to get that poison out of your body and you should probably feel better. I'm not going to impart some words of wisdom so don't ask."


End file.
